Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Some were curious about my online reselling and antique mall adventures, now's a good time for another honest update. I'm not giving up yet but man, I've been tempted to quit the antique mall cold turkey. A slight increase in sales for March was the only thing that stopped me from giving notice to vacate my spaces.

I've Been Lethargic: I think I've finally burst out of my slump, the extremely slow sales this February put me in a fog. I have a common right-brain-thinker problem, a strong tendency to get emotionally involved in my projects. Their failure means I'm a failure. I'd been putting in a metric ton of hours to get no pay, such is life for an indie business owner, but lack of pay did nothing to motivate me. I gave myself time to clean my house back to near-spotlessness again yesterday (just don't look into the closets!) but before that merchandise was scattered and my apartment looked as my messy as my mind felt.

And About the Booths: February and early March sales being slow was my fault, I opted for minimally staged booths which isn't the Southern Crossing Antique Mall way (which is instead, stuff-every-square-inch) and left it like that for a while out of stubbornness. I now own two small bookshelf-sized antique mall booths and last month was my first one not making my rent since my beginner days which was also disheartening. The methods I need to take to make lots of money at Southern Crossing are not ones I want to take or that I feel I have the money/energy to work on at the moment. While quitting is still at the back of my mind I may go on just to challenge myself to it. It's a lot on top of trying to write quality blog content, change the blog direction, and keep my online listings up. And live. A little.

Both my antique mall booths in quick cell phone shots: My first one is just the blue, the green on top of it and the wall above it. My 2nd one is the narrow space under my 'Thrift Core" sign. I want to improve both of them and somehow stuff in more merchandise!

The Booth Problems: The space limitations really bother me, I've been in Southern Crossing longer than many of my contemporaries, at least 3 years if not more, and am still on the "waiting list" for a large booth. I'd feel more comfortable with a huge booth to stage, but this also comes with a bigger rent responsibility to earn back. Southern Crossing is a nice way to host merchandise while spreading my brand name to a lot of shoppers (If you're a reader from Southern Crossing- thanks so much for being here! Ignore my rambling, I appreciate you) but I don't want it to be expensive, pretty storage. I need it to be successful.

A Personal Problem: I'm going to sound like a jerk confessing this but I get resentful toward the shoppers for "not supporting me." It's hard not to feel a pang of hurt (again, I'm twisted connecting business with myself personally) when customers praise my wares but don't buy one item OR make sure to only buy the one or two things in the booth marked on clearance and stray from everything else. I will turn off the feelings because clearly, it's my job as a retailer to create "need" for an object, I studied marketing, I know it's all on me. My hands are shaking with nervous shame confessing this but it's a problem I can't be alone in. I'm going to work on this by working harder and smarter on everything I do so there's no shame. I have a feeling the stupid thoughts manifest because I'm not trying hard enough and I'm looking for someone else to blame other than myself.

*Note, Prices: Something I forgot to note on my booths, I had to raise my prices which likely contributes to slower sales. I sell my items online and off and can't price them low locally when I can get more online. So juggling that is something I'm working out, too.

On the Other Projects: I'm getting my resume back in gear, brainstorming pitches and slowly applying for other writing jobs. I'd prefer one I could do working from home between all of my Thrift Core blog and reselling commitments. I feel like I haven't truly developed art/writing-wise in two years! I've also been calling around, taking creative classes, and researching for the other projects on my long to-do list behind-the-scenes. Some will be cancelled or re-structured. For instance, I wanted to create unique home oil burners but learned my design would damage the "medicinal" value of the essential oils. Back to the drawing board there!

Sales are back up this March, thank the proverbial lawd of retail, friends and I are theorizing that income tax return checks came in late? If you noticed I didn't post daily the past couple weeks it's because I've been pulling planned posts because of being in that foggy-brained state-of-mind.

Hopefully this will be the last work-rant, I'm feeling better about accomplishing goals this season. As always, I hope you'll stay with me and continue to support as I transition away from reselling and into a whole living/art/personal-lifestyle direction with the brand.

Been facing any problems with sales, reselling, indie business or life in general? Let us vent, fellow co-worker-less friends.

59 comments:

I feel your pain. Sorta. My goal this year was to at least double my sales from last year. So far so good, but anything after the holiday rush seems miniscule. People are purchasing my lowest priced items. So I am selling quite a bit, I suppose...but I am doing twice the work for the money. Selling fewer higher priced items is a lot easier than selling tons of low ticket items. Most of the thrift stores around my neck of the woods have been really picked over and not restocked, so most of my hunting has come up empty. And this shitty rainy Florida weather isn't helping my mood either! But on the good side, most of my lower priced items are things that I have had sitting around for a while, so I am moving out some of my older items. Im just going to focus on other things, re tagging items, taking new pics, getting more active with pinterest and instagram....Bleah! April's going to rock, right?!

It better! I am so grateful sales #s have been back up for me because February bombed. All my antique mall items are prices higher because I can get much more of them online and can't sell them for less locally and then have them sell online for more so finding a balance is tricky, but I'm going to keep working at it.

Go with your gut! Busy doesn't have to mean you are overwhelmed. If you feel liked you haven't developed in areas you really care about (art/writing - though, I think your writing is fab b/c I <3 your blog!) then maybe it's time to focus on that. I know it's hard to put down one thing and pick up another because we always think we can just keep picking up!

I have a booth dilemna too... My mother has always wanted a booth so we got one in December. She has had to pay rent every month! She thinks just because she likes an item, everyone else does too. And, she originally insisted on staging like it was a living room (read: sparse!). I finally convinced her to start adding more "stuff" and keeping it fresh but it is slow go. We have vastly different ideas on how to sell. It is interesting for sure. And it does suck when your good junk doesn't just fly off the shelf!

It really is so unpredictable, too. You always have to work at it to keep it doing well. I've even had my booth randomly do well one month when it was minimally filled, but on the whole, keeping a booth stuffed with as many cheap items as you can will ensure success from my experience, perhaps with a mix of other higher priced items that will sell slower. It helps to make or find small items to fill it with, I've been stubborn refusing the formula trying to sell "my way" not unlike your mom ;) I want to get my mom renting a book in Southern Crossing, she has years of retail experience, loves vintage and I think she could do really well with out- outselling me her first month, even. But she wants a break from the retail world.

Ha...I feel guilty when I do not buy anything from a shop I like...but just like you I have limits on what I will pay for things...even if it is for something I will keep / collect (but those limits are higher ;) ! I opened a booth at the beginning of this Month and have not made rent yet, which is way higher than have paid before. I think Feb/March is bad selling time. I am giving it a few months, but want it to work as I want the live person community of creating, selling and the such. Most of my stuff is a bit different than a lot of the stuff in the store..which could be a good thing...or a bad thing. Pricing is in high in the shop generally...so I try to keep up with the other booths...but would not mind lowering them some since my stuff is a bit different. Not sure I should though??? Oh the problems/issues/questions we all have! You are so dedicated, I am sure all will work out for you and your sales!

I do too, when I worked in the corporate world and made good money I did make sure to always buy at least one little thing from each artist/store I liked...so now my house is full of beautiful local artwork and I have some nice, unique clothing bits in the closet, too. Now I just literally can't but hope to support the businesses I love again soon...with the money I earn from my own. The circle of indie biz!

The store I'm in gets amazing foot traffic so I do feel it's all definitely on me. In your situation it could be your store doesn't get as many customers in general? I'm sure you researched it first but throwing it out there as a possibility. Lowering prices is a big rookie mistake, never do it! I stopped this year and don't regret the lower sales when someone does break down and buy a piece at the higher price. We put too much work into finding/cleaning/listing/tagging/staging/researching what we find not to price it appropriately so we earn for the labor and earn enough to keep our business running. Thanks for the honest feedback!

I don't have a booth-- no antique malls near me :( But my Etsy/Ebay sales have definitely been down since Xmas. Maybe the crummy weather put buyers in a funk. I sure know what you mean about people not buying from you. I did a lot of craft/art shows in my younger days. People would compliment your work then walk on. You can't take it personally, although that's easier said than done, right? Good luck!

I can sympathize with the booth woes, it's been a rollercoaster for us (newbies) this past year. But I think it may be too soon to make a true decision on whether it's worth it for us. I'm especially concerned with upcoming summer months and if we can make rent. We have higher rent here, and a fairly good sized booth, so it can get a little nervewracking to be down so much $$$ at the start of every month. Ours is actually 25 miles away from us, so we only go visit a week.

I'm thankful that we've been making rent (except for the first couple months), but it's also been exasperating that the "item" that sells is never the item that you THINK will sell. Really difficult to predict. Also, it's interesting that we have done OK with a fairly sparse (compared to most other folks) booth. Definitely depends on the mall, but ours has a mix. Some are so crowded there's no space to step, others so sparse it looks like someone's house. In general, we've been trying NOT to cram too much stuff in but I do get antsy wondering if I'm losing sales by not utilizing all the space for more and more items.

At some point, I need to transfer over to the mentality of "making money" in the booths as opposed to just making rent. We also think of it partially as "storage", which I guess is problematic. Especially because, it was my plan to mostly try sell the "bigger" things that are a pain to ship - when what seems to do better for us are the smalls.

In any case, it's been an adventure and overall it's been a good time. Hope your sales continue to pick up!

I've had the same issue of thinking of it as storage, must be common for us online-sellers, we need to think of it more as a big money-making enterprise that it could be. Thanks for sharing your honest story. I should stop complaining, I'm lucky my shop not only has amazing traffic, great organization, but it's also a short bike-ride away from me. I could walk to it. Would love to see your booth, I bet it looks gorgeous minimally staged with mid century modern wares.

I used to do that and had some of my best months doing that, but I don't like how it makes my booth look like a "dollar store" where people can just get deals or that it fills my booth with seemingly only low-quality items.

I love this post. I think it's hard not to take it personally when it's your life and your work. Also there's a distance when you sell online. It feels less personal if someone bounces from my blog or shop. I think if I was standing there when someone picked something up, looked at it and walked away it would feel so personal. I think it's brave to have a booth, it's public and your putting your stuff and yourself out there. Whether you continue or not you've done something brave and stood on your own when it's easier not to.

Thanks for the kind words. It can especially feel personal when you're selling art you've poured your soul into at a market, aah! I will stop blubbering and work harder but I wanted to put out my honest raw feelings.

I too am in the reseller funk. It was so bad I had a meltdown last weekend to my DH complete with tears, ranting, sobbing, and a trip to the hardware store to purchase yard sale stickers to slap on all my inventory. It was horribly ugly and I am ashamed to admit it. In my fit of out of control emotional meltdown, I deleted my blog. (Not smart, but too late now!) By Monday morning, my sense had returned and a couple of nice weekend sales helped my resolve.

It is a roller coaster. Such a wild ride sometimes, especially for those of us who are so emotionally invested in what we do. I, like you, have been working my ass off for zero return. I immediately wonder what I am doing wrong. It must be something I am doing. Then the sales pick up again and you know what, I haven't changed one damn thing. It reminds me to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Thanks for sharing your honest feedback. I haven't sobbed to a boyfriend since my earliest days working as a creative, I was making good money from a day job but it was more stressful times because I was going on little sleep trying to run two businesses. BUT this past week I did have to call the boyfriend and vent and choke back the tears. February was the worst, it's official! And sales are so unpredictable, I think it helps to try new things because we may discover something easy and amazing that works. Right now I'm trying to move all my stock over to eBay to see if that helps sales along.

I suggest calculating how much time you are spending on your antique booths and if that time would be more valuable applying it online. If so, then you might just have your answer. Also, speaking to the manager and letting him know how long you've been waiting and that your small space just isn't cutting it might get you priority, since you've been there so long.

Thanks for the tips, I definitely do need to approach is less emotionally and do some calculating. Luckily going with the slow sales lately I haven't put a whole lot of hours into the booths. As they say, you often get what you put into things...

Your post is me every other day last year lolzzzz I finally quit my booth on impulse one day---obviously there were multiple factors involved. Think about why you run your booth and if it is fulfilling it's purpose and/or if you want to even continue that as a goal. Now about having people buy stuff and support you... Girrrrrrl, you better go find that dope sh@t that people can't live w/o!!! You know people will pay just about anything if they WANT it!

I feel like a person can sell ANYTHING if they accurately convey urgency, and yep, it's also about finding the best quality unique vintage possible. I'm not ready to go filling the house full quite yet now that it's finally in order again, want to create a system that will keep me from being overwhelmed first.

Oh and the money thing too, don't feel comfortable hunting much at the moment not making much, it's a vicious cycle. Trying to sell lots of what I have first. But definitely know where you're coming from, you always have to feed online/offline shops tons of fresh super unique merchandise.

I have a bad case of inertia and I don't know why. Maybe its the weather because it really makes no sense. Typically i'm pretty steady and I try to get shit done. But lately, the house stays clean, crickets on my reselling. Even though I don't do to bad considering I've put little work in it. As for an antique booth, i've never read a positive report except for people who sell higher end mid century, Eames furniture so its never appealed to me. Good luck finding a writing gig!

Someone I inspired to start a booth was making (and my still be making) 1,000+ and found a method that works for her with staging her booth full of unique stuff and finding a good price point, she doesn't sell MCM. It's super hard to sell MCM furniture at the right price locally. I'm still trying to get like you are, have this reselling gig running well on "auto" in the background.

Today I had my one and only sale since last Saturday on ebay. Pitiful. I'm a small seller, but I'm usually very consistent selling at least 30 items per month. It doesn't look like that's going to happen this month. Besides selling and sourcing, I also write a blog plus I have a part time job in the "real world" and I'm a wife and mother. As busy as I feel like I am, I feel like I'm standing still compared to you and all the things that you do in a day or a week. Maybe it's time to narrow your focus?

Definitely do think it's time to either narrow focus on get way ahead on work so I can do all my other craziness guilt-free. I can't imagine how busy moms do it all, in awe of that, I can't get ahead and my only responsibility is a cat.

Hey Vanessa! Such a good post! Putting it honestly and telling it like it is....I appreciate it. Sorry to hear about your frustrations....we all want our booths to be successful and we are lucky to maintain a certain income level with such. I deal with month-to-month ups and downs as well. I do not have any answers, although I know with my own personal experience, the end of the month (from the 15th on) I always have an increase in my sales. Just when I'm pondering, "What's going on this month?" I will get an upsurge on smalls and sometimes larger pieces too. It's crazy sometimes, but to say "You just never know," is all that I can do to explain it. My numbers continue to be the same...usually upwards in the 4-number range and I'm amazed as well. When I look around the mall, and there are so, so many dealers and things to buy I'm surprised. I try to really only buy what I like, no certain style or "brand," just whatever catches my eye for the right price. I go in stages with what I find, sometimes it's on the junky/rusty side, sometimes more the pretty side, I just never know. I also always try to maintain a few larger pieces for display and for the hopes of getting a bigger chunk of change from a single sale vs. lots of smalls. I would say, "Don't give up!!!" Keep your spaces full and with a varied amount of merchandise.....we all never know what the customer is looking for. I have certainly fallen for the, "Oh, this is going to sell right away" gimic only to see the item sit for weeks. Display, working your booth, keeping it tidy, changing up the wall displays are all part of it. I actually enjoy that process the most. And, I love having the local "parking lot sale" as a way to get rid of things that have cluttered my booth and not moved, or that I'm just plain tired of looking at. The quick turn of money is a way to add to my buying stash $$. My question about you wishing for a larger space.....what about the larger space you had? You had it for only a few months....was it not large enough? I know you said it was not the right time for the space, but how did you feel about the size of it when it came to display and working smaller pieces in?

Thanks for the feedback! I wasn't ready at the time with my larger space but now feel more confident in being able to stage a large space now that I have a much clearer idea of what I want my brand to be. I did feel limited in that larger spot as well, though. I didn't consider at the time what I have now- that I could try to add all my current merchandise to it and see what happens. I'd love a large space so more of my stock could get local exposure. I'd love to put in some large items but everything's working against me on that front: no space to store, truck to tote, etc. I've barely been able to give the booths a lot of thoughtful attention with everything else I'm doing so like they say, I may be getting what I'm putting into it- not enough. I may give it another hard fair shake but it's not feeling right. I've never made exceptionally good sales at it like I do online.

I can definitely relate. I am taking some time off from reselling, because it was becoming not fun anymore. Snotty and vengeful customers on ebay and the whole feast or famine aspect was getting to me (both in the buying and selling of my wares). I definitely had beginners luck and unfortunately it just didn't stick. I'm hoping to pick back up in the fall....I just needed a break from being jerked around. Antique malls seem enticing, but it's so easy to be overlooked and hard to be competitive. It seems the internet sales are a little less stressful.

When I was selling my wares for less it was working out nicely for me in the antique malls, but with raised prices and less time I'm not sure about it anymore. I think online is definitely a way to go for a large audience.

Like so many people around the country this winter has been seriously brutal on my heating bills (not to mention a burst pipe in January which also spiked my water bill). Thank goodness for homeowner's insurance . . oh yeah, after my $1,000 deductible. . . I think this years extremely cold winter has had an impact on fun spending as well as given people a strong case of the blahs! I have heard this from many folks. I believe sales will rebound once we get into the swing of spring. Like Carla G. above I love having a local tag sale every so often to get rid of extra merch and other household odds and ends. I enjoy the customer interaction and fast cash return. It never ceases to amaze me what people will buy. I always put an enthusiastic ad in craigslist and other free, local tag/yard sale sites with a sampling of what I've got and mention unique items (in case they search the sites for particular items) and hours I'll be at the location. I have a bright whirly gig I stick in the ground by my space to mark my spot, works wonders. The people who come out after seeing my ad always tell me. The more sellers at the location the better. If I have large items to sell that don't fit in my car I'll post a picture with dimensions, price, etc. on a board. I have sold many furniture items that way. You could also hand out a flyer/info. about your antique mall space and etsy/ebay sites to people you meet there who are interested in your type of wares. Now, go give Yuko a cuddle and like magic, all will be well with your world. I must now go and feed my 2 critters.

Carla invited me to a yard sale in front of another local antique mall and I did really well that day, need to go to more of those and host more of them, too. Love your ideas! I have been trying to make time for group local vintage sales with fellow sellers to help us unload and get the local face-to-face interaction.

Van, this is a great forum. Now I don't feel so alone. It's difficult to gauge what the customer wants. I sold a retro hairdryer last week that had been in the shop for 2 years. Sometimes I think the only people that do make a steady income are those that own the malls. Don't give up, you have great merchandise, with a blog to support your online business. I think you're way ahead of a lot of vendors who don't have your eye or ability to write. Hope you keep posting, I look forward to reading.

I think it is healthy and important to be honest with your emotions as you go through any process. I really respect you for voicing your frustrations. I hope that whatever you decide to do that it fuels your soul! Your pieces look fantastic by the way! Thank you so much for popping by my blog...such a lovely space you have here! Nicole

Thanks so much for the kind words and comment Nicole :) I've been holding this post back for a while because I feel embarrassed by my honest feelings but I know it helps others. It helps getting it off my chest, too.

Thanks :) I really appreciate it. The overhead can be a bitch because then it feels like I sacrificed good items I could sell online for more to make no profit- but I'll give it another good try. The traffic's there, I just have to learn to convert 'em.

You might want to try renting space in an occasional sale space. In my neighborhood there are a few buildings (one is a house, one in a retail store) that only have sales one weekend (Weds-sun) a month. I believe you rent a space like any antique mall but you only stage it one week a month or so. Then if the place has a strong following people who like it come and see all the new stuff. I don't know if it'd actually be an improvement but It may be something to try if you have any near you.

Don't get beaten down on people not buying your wares. It's definitely not a reflection of you, you have a lot of cool things in your shop. A lot of factors go into whether or not someone buys something. Personally location plays a role in my buying habits, I often find things I like in shops but they are often also breakable things and generally I don't really want to risk the items breaking in transit. As an avid thrifter if I buy vintage online it generally is an well priced item that I collect and that is harder to find. Also sometimes it just takes a while for someone to buy something. There are a lot of different shops i'd like to buy from but I just can't afford to all the time.

I don't think we have one of those but I did look into STARTING things like that. It's too expensive to rent space around here but I'd still like to try and host group sales.Thanks for the tips/encouragement.

I had a pretty good size booth for 4 years and almost alway covered rent and more. February was alway my worst month for sales. In October I moved to a shared shop. I now have room for vintage clothes and a few MCM furniture pieces. The shop has a boutique feel and sales have been so much better. The higher rent was scary at first but has not been a problem so far even with terrible weather this winter. You need a lot of passion to be in this business but its so rewarding. I especially love connecting with customers now when I working the shop, something I rarely got to do at the mall. Everyone's business changes go with your gut and be fearless!

I wanted to do the same with a shared shop, for my experience setting up wares in the field sales/response were great! Iy's one of those things: seeing the person there and spread out wares communicates your brand better. I loved interacting with customers, too! Miss that element, it's so fun. Congrats on your shop, maybe you can let me write about it sometime ;) your booths were always gorgeous, I bet the shop is, too. And you're right, yep, gotta have tireless passion for what you're doing to succeed in this.

I closed my mall booth years ago when I figured out that I could make more money selling online. The customers only bought when I brought in brand new inventory and the other things just sat. I had to find somewhere else to get rid of them, thus my online

Sorry, it stalled out on me! My online business was born. I got tired of working all month just to pay booth rent and of customers trashing the place and stealing from me. I will never go back to it. But if you do have a booth at least you dont have to work as much on each item to sell it and service the sale. So you can charge less thats the law of supply and demand. If they arent buying it is because the price is too high. Nice thing about Ebay is that everything can sit as a Buy It Now until someone decides it is worth the price!

Yeh I feel the pain on the booth trashing/stealing, I want to stuff it fuller but I fear more breakage if I try. The only thing keeping me in now is how difficult it would be to get back in if I left. I may give it some more earnest effort first.

January, Feb & March have been brutal for EVERY re-seller. eBay is the only thing keeping me alive, and even it's pretty slow. I've had to list pretty much every expensive, awesome thing I have just to pay the rent. It's not normally like that for me, so I'm hoping and praying it's temporary. It probably is. But in the meantime it's hard not to get scared and think about closing down. I start to think... well, I'll start looking for a full time job, and if I get a good offer, I'll run this shop on evenings and weekends till I can at least clear out the big stuff and put the rest in my garage. :) But then something good happens, I have a big sale or my husband decides to buy me another ginormous display case. (sigh)

Re-selling isn't your only income, right? Me either. Sometimes I justify having the shop by calling it the "writing/editing office's front lobby." Because I do the other work in the back office when I'm not waiting on customers. Which is most of the time and that's really picking up for me. The great thing about having two freelance jobs is that if one is going crappy, it might be time to focus on the other one for a while. And wouldn't you know it, just when one takes off and you're busier than a one-armed paper hanger, the other will get revved up too so you REALLY go crazy. I'll take that kind of crazy, won't you? Good luck!

I am in my 24th year of selling in antique malls/flea markets. Very, very rarely I have not covered rent. My problem right now is that I am having a really hard time dealing with some of the employees at one of the shops I am in. The rent there is the highest I pay anywhere and maybe that is partly why I am so annoyed at the workers. They stay on their iphones all the time, ignore customers, are rude to vendors. When I am working on my booth I always wind up being the person the customers come to. The owner is nice but too busy with other business ventures to show up much. This shop is not an integral part of my business model, but it does contribute to my profit. I have been there for 7 years and am ready to just move on. Does anyone have suggestions on how to know when it is time to leave a shop? And if so, did you give written notice. . .did you tell the owner the problems you faced or did you just quietly leave? Thanks for any input.